FC Petržalka facts for kids
FC Petržalka is a football club from Bratislava, Slovakia. It was started way back in 1898. The club has a long history in Slovak and Czechoslovak football. They even played in the top league in Czechoslovakia twice in the 1980s. Later, they spent 14 years in a row in the top Slovak league.
One of their biggest achievements was playing in the group stage of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League. They also reached the Round of 32 in the 2005–06 UEFA Cup. After some tough times, the club lost its old stadium. But a new one was built, and the team is now working its way back up. They play their home games at the new stadium which holds 1,600 fans. The team wears cool white and black striped shirts.
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Club History
FC Petržalka has been around for a very long time. It started in 1898 as Pozsonyi Torna Egyesület. The club has changed its name 17 times over the years! One famous name was Artmedia Bratislava.
Artmedia played in the top Slovak league from 1993 until 2010. Their most successful period was in the mid-2000s. This was when Vladimír Weiss was their coach. In 2005, they won the Corgoň Liga title, which is the top Slovak league.
=Amazing European Adventures (2005–06)
After winning the league in 2005, FC Petržalka (then called Artmedia) got to play in the UEFA Champions League. This is a huge competition for the best clubs in Europe!
They had an incredible journey:
- They beat Kairat Almaty 4–3 overall in the first round. They lost the first game 2–0 but won the second 4–1!
- Then came a shocker! On July 27, 2005, they beat Celtic from Scotland 5–0 in the first game of the second round. Celtic is a very famous club. Even though Celtic won the next game 4–0, Artmedia still went through!
- Next, they faced Partizan Belgrade. After two games, the score was 0–0. Artmedia won 4–3 in a penalty shootout to reach the Champions League group stage! This was a huge deal because their whole yearly budget was only about £1 million.
Artmedia became only the second Slovak club ever to reach the Champions League group stage. They also made history by being one of the first two clubs to go from the very first qualifying round all the way to the group stage. The other club was Liverpool, who had won the Champions League the year before!
Because their own stadium wasn't big enough for Champions League games, Artmedia played their home matches at Tehelné pole. This was the stadium of their city rivals, Slovan Bratislava.
On September 28, 2005, Artmedia made history again. They became the first Slovak team to earn a point in the Champions League group stage. They did this by coming back from 2–0 down to beat Porto 3–2 at Porto's home stadium! Porto had won the Champions League in 2004.
They finished third in their group. This meant they moved to the UEFA Cup. Sadly, they lost to Levski Sofia in the Round of 32 and were knocked out.
After this amazing season, their coach Vladimír Weiss left. Many key players also left the club.
Challenges and Comeback (2008–Present)
Coach Vladimír Weiss returned for the 2007–08 season. Some important players also came back. The team won the Slovak league title for the second time! They beat their rivals MŠK Žilina.
However, after this success, the club's owner and main sponsor left. This caused problems for the team. In the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League qualifiers, they beat Valletta and Tampere United. But they lost to the famous Italian club Juventus.
Many players left the club before the 2009–10 season. Younger players and players from other teams joined. The team struggled and was eventually moved down to a lower league.
In 2014, a new club was formed called FC Petržalka akadémia. This new club started in the 5th division. They quickly won their league in 2014–15. They won the 5th division again in 2015–16 and moved up to the 4th league.
In 2016–17, they continued their winning streak. They were unbeaten for 46 league matches in a row! They won the 4th league and moved up to the 3rd division. In 2017–18, they kept winning. They beat Rohožník 3–0 in a key match. They won 15 of their last 16 games and earned promotion back to the 2nd division! This was a great comeback for the club. On July 20, 2018, FC Petržalka played their first match back in the 2nd division and won!
Club Achievements
FC Petržalka has won many titles over the years.
In Slovakia and Czechoslovakia
- 1.SNL (1st Slovak National football league) (1969–1993)
- Slovak Superliga (1993–)
- Slovenský Pohár (Slovak Cup) (1961–)
- Pribina Cup (Slovak Super Cup) (1993–)
In Europe
- UEFA Champions League
- Group stage (1): 2005–06
- UEFA Europa League
- Round of 16 (1): 2005–06
Top Goal Scorers in Slovak League
These players scored the most goals for Petržalka in the Slovak League:
Year | Winner | Goals |
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2004–05 | ![]() |
22 |
2006–07 | ![]() |
16 |
Stadiums
FC Petržalka has had a few homes over the years.
First Playing Fields
The first football match for Pozsonyi Torna Egyesület (PTE) was supposed to be on September 25, 1898. But it was moved to October 2, 1898. The rules of football were even explained to the people watching! The game was played between members of the club at a high school playground. In the early days, they just used open fields to play their home matches.
Štadión za Starým mostom (Old Stadium)
In 1899, the club decided to build a proper football field. It was built near the Danube river and opened on September 25, 1900. PTE won their first game there against Magyar Football Club Budapest, 3–2. This stadium was used for many years. More than 100 years later, Artmedia still played their home games at this same spot. It was called Štadión za Starým mostom.
The old stadium could hold about 10,000 fans. It was very popular, with over 4,000 people usually coming to league matches. However, it didn't meet the rules for big European games. So, when Artmedia played in the Champions League in 2005–06, they had to use a different stadium. This stadium was closed in 2009 and taken down in 2012.
New Home Ground – Štadión FC Petržalka
A new stadium was built in 2011 on Sklodowskej street in Petržalka. It's called Stadium FC Petržalka 1898. It first became home to FC Petržalka 1898. After the club had some financial problems in 2014, it became the home for the new team, FC Petržalka akadémia, and then FC Petržalka.
The stadium officially opened on August 5, 2012. The first match was between FC Petržalka 1898 and FC Nitra B. The stadium started with one main stand that had 800 seats. It can be made bigger in the future. When the team was in lower leagues, the stadium could hold about 1,500 people.
Current Team
Updated July 21, 2024
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Players on Loan
Sometimes players go to other teams for a while to get more playing time. This is called being "on loan."
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Club Staff
Updated May 18, 2024
Staff | Job title |
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Manager |
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Assistant manager |
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Goalkeeping coach |
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Physiotherapist |
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Doctor |
Player Records
Most Goals Scored
These players have scored the most goals for FC Petržalka:
# | Country | Name | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Milan Strelec | 67 |
2 | ![]() |
Marián Pochaba | 59 |
3 | ![]() |
Tomáš Medveď | 51 |
4 | ![]() |
Ján Kozák jr. | 40 |
5 | ![]() |
Juraj Halenár | 38 |
Players whose name is in bold are still playing for the team.
Famous Players
Many players from FC Petržalka have gone on to play for their national teams. Some have even moved to bigger leagues in other countries like Germany, Italy, and Russia.
Here are some notable players who have played for Petržalka:
Ladislav Almási
Mamadou Bagayoko
Henrich Benčík
Balázs Borbély
Erik Čikoš
Marián Čišovský
Juraj Čobej
Vladimirs Draguns
Ján Ďurica
Pavol Farkaš
Peter Fieber
Branislav Fodrek
Karim Guédé
Juraj Halenár
Marián Had
Miroslav Hýll
Quintón Christina
Miroslav Chvíla
Jozef Juriga
Ľuboš Kamenár
Vladimír Kinder
Tomáš Kóňa
Rastislav Kostka
Ján Kozák jr.
Samuel Kozlovský
Marek Krejčí
František Kubík
Ľudovít Lancz
Martin Lipčák
Ľubomír Luhový
Štefan Maixner
Marián Masný
Stefan Mitrović
Branislav Niňaj
Gyula Nirnsee
Martin Obšitník
Branislav Obžera
Tomáš Oravec
Peter Petráš
Juraj Piroska
Attila Pinte
Ľubomír Reiter
Kornel Saláta
Ivan Schranz
Miloš Soboňa
Dušan Sninský
Jakub Sylvestr
Otto Szabó
Filip Šebo
Anton Šoltis
Karel Vácha
Blažej Vaščák
Vladimír Weiss sr.
Vladislav Zvara
Images for kids
See also
In Spanish: FC Petržalka 1898 para niños
- 2005–06 FC Artmedia Bratislava season